The micro USB connector on the APM boards is extremely fragile and easily damaged.
My solution was to insert a Micro USB to Mini USB adapter to the copter:
This way, I just use any Mini USB while on the ground or bench, and leave the adapter cable on the copter.
Here's an example:
Do not try to use a similar appearing charger adapter. They typically lack the data wires.
On the other hand, I do use a USB charger to power the APM without connecting the LiPo. This lets me safely communicate with the APM over the 3DRadio.
Comments
What can you do if your connector only makes connection when you force the cable upwards? its very fragile right now. I tried to compress the whole connector with pliers, but it did only help a little.
Next thing would be to remove the connector completely and solder a miniUSB connector cable to it.
Definitely will have a look shortly. Thanks.
Rather than resoldering it, look at the leaves in the connector and see if they have become loose. It may be your board is in at 0.1% -0.2% range. You can bend the tabs to tighten up the socket again.
I'm sure. I've tried 3 different cables. All of them works like a charm when connecting the phone to PC.
Marooned, are you sure it is not the USB cable that is broken?
Craig. So you are lucky. I have APM2 for several months and used the USB port not very often. Since last month I was connecting it few times a week as I started modifying the code. Now the port is broken and I need to put the cable in weird position to have stable voltage. I have some other circuit connected to APM2 and it goes crazy with USB cable connected as usual. I guess I'll have to solder the new port... so I can confirm, it's VERY fragile. Broken with less than 100 connections! And believe me, I'm treating electronics very carefully.
FWIW:
Out of a sample set of several thousand mate/de-mate cycles at 3DR I would have to say I have had more micro-usb cables fail than I have APM micro-usb bulkheads fail. There is a collection of a dozen broken cables sitting here but I have yet to cause a bulkhead connector to fail. That said out of several thousand APMs in circulation we have had about 20 come back with a worn out USB connector. That’s somewhere around a 0.1 - 0.2% failure rate
Even the connector on my cell phone is over a thousand mate/de-mate cycles in the past 500days.
Calling the micro-usb connector fragile and easily damaged is a misnomer unsupported by data.
What we have found is that because the micro-usb has less mass than the usb-mini connector previously used in the APM1 it actually has been surviving crashes better than the larger connector.
Adding the cable as you suggest adds quite a bit of unsupported mass and lever arm that will be torquing on the bulkhead connector in a crash.
I do not recommend it.
Cheers
I do hate the new micro usb connectors, they were only created for the new slim cell phones, etc and have no place on something like a flight controller. At least when designing a new connector they could have made it more robust.
But, that totally defeats the purpose of the adapter cable which is to minimize the number of insertions in the micro connector. There is a lot of flexibility in the cable, so I don't see how it could transmit vibrations. Also, I've crashed badly enough to bend an arm of the hex and crush a motor (think - Lawn Dart), and the cable is still there.
Another problem is that the cable and connector have mass and therefore inertia. In a heavy landing the inertia will rip the connector of the board.
I agree that the short cable fastened to the arm is good as it can be set to support the wire and pass as little stress as possible to the connector when you need it inserted. but I would fly with it disconnected.
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